First Posted: 1/15/2009

Red Springs races past E. Columbus

RED SPRINGS - A pessimist might point out that the Red Springs High School football team didn't have a lot of success in the passing game Friday night. Of course, since the Red Devils picked up 481 yards on the ground in a 49-6 rout of East Columbus, it's kind of a moot point.
The Red Devils, who improved to 1-1, never trailed in the contest and had three players rush for at least 126 yards and picked up four touchdowns on the ground. Neil Smith led the way for Red Springs with 169 rushing yards on eight carries. Charles Campbell ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns and Chris Isaac chipped in with 126 yards and three TDs for the Red Devils.
“We played up to our expectations tonight,” Red Springs coach David Lovette said. “We got Charles and Neil Smith going; they did a great job tonight.”
Red Springs dominated the game from the start, marching 64 yards on its opening drive to take an 6-0 lead with 8:38 remaining in the first quarter. The Devils caught a break on their second drive when Campbell dropped back to punt, but fumbled a poor snap. The senior fullback retrieved the ball and threw to a wide-open Smith, who trotted in for a 40 yard touchdown reception.
The Gators (0-2) were able to notch their only score later in the quarter after recovering a muffed punt return on the Red Springs 15 yard line. East Columbus took advantage of the short field and scored on a one yard run by Brandon Swindell to make cut the score to 14-6.
Red Springs then outscored East Columbus 21-0 in the second period and added unanswered touchdowns in each of the final two quarters.
“We got a lot of young kids who are still learning the game,” East Columbus coach Brian Bauer said. “They played with a much better level of intensity last week and it showed. We were sleep walking through the first half and we deserved that score.”
Despite the blowout, Lovette was able to find some things for his team to improve on. The Red Devils fumbled eight times, but were fortunate to lose only one.